


Eostober

by EzraTheBlue



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV, Childhood, Domestic Fluff, Implied Relationships, M/M, October Prompt Challenge, Platonic Relationships, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:08:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 16,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26750386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EzraTheBlue/pseuds/EzraTheBlue
Summary: A series of FFXV-based drabbles written for the month of October! This will include a mix of pairings, settings, and prompts based on the assorted Igtober, Promptober, Noctober, Gladtober, and FFXVtober prompt sets!Day 1: Sunflowers & Coffee / Day 2: Insomnia & Photoshoot / Day 3: Treasure & Button / Day 4: Skull & Regalia / Day 5: Leather & Sword / Day 6: Chosen & Tattoo / Day 7: Childhood & Fire / Day 8: Shopping & Dogs / Day 9: Omen & Agile / Day 10: Daylight & Bros / Day 11: Crystal & Crying / Day 12: Glasses & Gadgets / Day 13: Admirer & Flustered / Day 14: Phoenix Down & Courage / Day 15: Chocobo x2 / Day 16: Gamble & Flying / Day 17: Spicy & Mountain / Day 18: Meteor Shower & Stars / Day 19: Cat & Caged Bird / Day 20: Sleep & Freckles / Day 21: Sweets & Recipe / Day 22: Holy/Crystal & Training / Day 23: Bad Memory & Sacrifice / Day 24: Trident & Piano / Day 25: Homecoming & Goodnight / Day 26: Carbuncle & Sharp / Day 27: Father/Son Bonds & Warp / Day 28: Driving & Sassy / Day 29: Loved & Loving / Day 30: Frog & Guilty Pleasure / Day 31: Dawn, Spooks, & Friends
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia, Gladiolus Amicitia/Noctis Lucis Caelum, Gladiolus Amicitia/Prompto Argentum, Gladiolus Amicitia/Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum/Ignis Scientia, Noctis Lucis Caelum/Ignis Scientia, Prompto Argentum/Ignis Scientia, Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum
Comments: 140
Kudos: 101





	1. Sunflowers & Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be a fun experiment. Since so many people shared assorted FFXV-related prompt lists and I couldn't choose just one, I decided to try and tackle a drabble a day based on a mixed set of them! 
> 
> The chart I am using, which has collected all of the prompts, can be found here, courtesy of seaofolives: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1srxe3Znxb6jAyYvfivDXV-jSja76Y-dCxswXDUAwMpg/edit#gid=0  
> No Glaivetober prompts, I don't know the Glaive characters well enough (sorry)!
> 
> Igtober can be found here, courtesy of the Ignis Scientia Estrogen Brigade: https://twitter.com/i_s_e_b/status/1305624604300386304  
> Promptober can be found here, courtesy of Miluette: https://twitter.com/miluette/status/1311479342518743041  
> Noctober can be found here, courtesy of autumnstwilight: https://twitter.com/autumnstwiligh1/status/1307213908298481664  
> Gladtober can be found here, courtesy of blackmoonrose1: https://twitter.com/blackmoonrose13/status/1307478976399638528?s=21  
> FFXVtober can be found here, courtesy of He60: https://twitter.com/He6o/status/1301112640178016258
> 
> Without further ado!
> 
> (Oh, and since I can't make chapter notes for chapter 1:
> 
> Day 1: Igtober & Promptober - Promnis - coffee & sunflowers)

**1: Sunflowers & Coffee**

There’s a vase of sunflowers on the breakfast table in their caravan now. They’re silk - flowers haven’t begun to regrow yet - but Ignis is certain that if they were real, he wouldn’t be able to scent them over the aroma of his morning coffee. It’s taken Prompto ten years to perfect, but he’s finally mastered making Ignis’ coffee just the way he likes it.    
  
Across the table, he hears the flip of a page. Prompto’s taken to reading the news in the morning; he says that reading about everything, written from a viewpoint other than his own, makes it easier for him to believe everything that’s going on around him. After ten years, it must be hard to believe that things are getting better. For Ignis, the sounds of construction beyond their window and the warm sunlight on his shoulder are proof enough.

“Hey,” Prompto says, apropos of nothing, “Did you know that sunflowers always turn to face the sun?” He chuckles, and there’s a rustle of stiff fabric as Prompto pushes their silk sunflowers to turn towards the window. Ignis smiles to himself.

“Heliotropes. It’s a natural biological adaptation. They need the sun to survive, after all.”

“Yeah, sure, but get this - if the sun’s not out, sunflowers will face each other, because the sunflower next to them is the closest thing.” There’s a rustle of paper on plywood, as Prompto puts his newspaper down. Ignis thinks, then grins into his coffee mug.

“Darling, you wouldn’t be leaning towards me with that cheeky smile, would you?”

Prompto laughs. “You read me like Braille, Iggy!” He leans over the table and kisses Ignis on the cheek, and Ignis laughs, then returns his attention to his coffee.

It had taken ten years, but Ignis’ coffee this morning was truly perfect. 


	2. Insomnia & Photoshoot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Noctober & Promptober - Insomnia and Photoshoot

**2: Insomnia & Photoshoot**

Prompto checked through the photographs on his memory card and reviewed the list in his notebook, as Noctis shuffled his feet at his side. Insomnia was busy and bustling this morning; people on the street didn’t even stop to take notice that the Crown Prince himself was standing there with dorky Prompto and his camera and notebook. Then again, when Noctis was in public, he was usually quiet and withdrawn, deliberately understated to avoid attention and to avoid letting the wrong people see too much of him. He was quietly embarrassed that he had to have a Crownsguard operative discreetly following him around his own city, but he never seemed embarrassed of Prompto. 

“What’s next on your assignment list?” Noctis, who Prompto knew would probably rather be in the arcade two blocks away but had been tolerantly trudging along behind him as he roamed the market district, peered at the notebook. Prompto bit his lip. 

“I’ve got most of it.” Prompto tapped each item on his ‘Insomnia in Your View’ assignment list. "I got some cool shots of the monument of the Rogue with some great shadows, I think that photograph of the fashion stores on the high street are good for colors, and the crowd’s made for some really cool blur effects going around the traffic circle.” He licked his lower lip. “The thing I still need is angle. Like, an angle on one of Insomnia’s attractions that most people wouldn’t see.”   
  
“I could take a photograph of you.” 

“Dude, shut up.”

“You’re an attraction.” Noctis sidled closer, and Prompto rolled his eyes but slung an arm around his shoulder. Noctis allowed it; with most people, he didn’t, and Prompto liked it and loved taking advantage of it.

“That’s a matter of opinion, and anyway, it’s not like tourists are coming around to see _me._ ” 

“I am,” Noctis muttered, but slid his hand into Prompto’s. “Okay, but, what counts as an attraction? Does the Citadel count?”

“Yeah, sure.” Prompto faced him. “You wanna head over?”

“You can see it from here, you know.” Noctis’ eyes crinkled, belying a smile that was much bigger than his stoic mouth would allow. “I can get you a really good angle on it. Have your camera ready and close your mouth tight.” 

“Huh?” Prompto’s jaw fell open, but Noctis tipped his mouth shut with his index finger, signaled their Crownsguard tail with a hand motion Prompto couldn’t interpret, then took out a dagger from his Armiger with a flash of blue light. Prompto didn’t even have time to protest when Noctis threw the dagger up past the throngs surrounding them, and there was a whirl of light, color, and wind and suddenly Prompto was on a ledge, with Noctis holding his dagger in one hand and Prompto’s hand in the other. Noctis kept his hand in a tight squeeze, but nodded. 

“Is that a good angle?” He grinned, broader like a Cheshire cat, and Prompto gasped out a laugh and grabbed his camera as he faced the Citadel. 

He wished everyone could see this side of Noctis - but it was just for him. He leaned out, facing the Citadel, and held Noctis’ hand tight as he got the shot.

“Perfect. Now, get us down safely, and give me a second to hold my breath.”

Noctis laughed, and the two of them zipped back to the ground. They could enjoy the rest of Insomnia from the ground level, though all they wanted to do was enjoy each other from every direction.


	3. Treasure & Button

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladtober + Igtober - Gladnis, Treasure & Button

**3: Treasure and Button**

Ignis worked too much, and at things that never seemed to be worth his attention, in Gladio’s opinion. He was a treasure, and Noctis didn't deserve him sometimes, but Gladio was grateful to be granted however much of Ignis he was. It was unfair that Ignis didn't seem to acknowledge his own value and treat himself quite as well as he deserved.

Ignis had finally gotten a night off of cooking for Noctis, and what was he doing with it? Rummaging around his desk looking for something or other to do “one last thing” before he would let himself enjoy it _,_ while he was supposed to be getting taken out for wine and whiskey and a decent meal cooked by someone else. The sun was casting its dying embers through Ignis’ apartment window, Ignis was off work, and they were supposed to have left for their night out half an hour ago. Gladio had agreed to wait while Ignis finished “one last thing” before they left for the brewpub, but his “five minutes” had turned into twenty, and while Gladio never minded a few spare minutes to read while he waited, he couldn’t stand waiting while Ignis rummaged around. 

“Did you need some help?” He shut his book and looked up to see Ignis turning out one of the the drawers in his desk, emptying all of its contents onto the floor. He raised an eyebrow at Ignis’ frantic rummaging, his furious digging and sifting in broad contrast to his stoic expression.

“I’m certain I’m right on top of it.” 

“Well, if you’re digging for buried treasure in your desk, I’ll help. I’d like a cut of that.” He sauntered over, but Ignis shook his head without looking up.

“Nothing nearly so valuable.”

“Will you at least tell me what you’re looking for?” Gladio set his hands on his hips, and Ignis sucked his cheeks in. Now Gladio knew he was avoiding his gaze.

He relented after a moment under Gladio’s hard stare: “A button.” He motioned to a jacket hung up on the back of his closet. Gladio looked, and scowled - it was too small to be Ignis’, and Gladio knew it could only belong to one person.

“Really? Noct can’t give you one night off?”

Ignis sighed. “Apparently he lost the button at school, and didn’t even notice until he arrived home. He didn’t ask it of me, I volunteered, since I know for a fact I have a button that matches that one.” He paused. “It’s my duty as his chamberlain to ensure he looks his best.”

“Yeah, but…” Gladio knit his brow up, as Ignis’ hands stilled in the middle of his upturned gadgets and knick-knacks.

“It’s important to me that I do my best for him. After all, you’re not as strong as you are for your own sake. Surely you understand.”

The thing was, Gladio did. He trained as hard as he did because he wanted to be as strong as he could for Noctis. He put as many hours in as he did to ensure Noctis’ guards were the best they could be. One of the things he loved about Ignis was that in his own way, he was exactly as dedicated. 

He never really clocked out. He knew that if Noctis called him, he’d be there for him. However, right now, he was here for Ignis.

He took a knee and began to filter through Ignis’ junk drawer’s contents, and moments later, found a black button. He held it out to Ignis. “Is this what you’re looking for?”

Ignis’ hand curled over Gladio’s to claim the button and lingered , and Gladio glanced up to see Ignis’ warm smile aglow like an ember. “It is.”

“Well. Good.” Gladio turned his hand as Ignis stood and retrieved his sewing kit from the table and took Noctis’ jacket from the hanger. 

“I’ll be but a moment, and then I’m all yours.” He sat on his futon, right beside where Gladio had been reading minutes before, and Gladio returned to sit beside him, opening his book to entertain himself a moment longer as Ignis loaded a needle and set to his task, already looking satisfied. Gladio understood. 

Ignis had found his button, but Gladio had the real treasure right beside him.


	4. Skull & Regalia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Noctober and FFXVtober: Skull & Regalia
> 
> (OT4 if you squint, but Noct-centric!)

**4: Skull & Regalia**

All four of them crowded around Cindy’s catalogue, and Noctis shook his head as the argument took the same turn again, like three steps in a waltz:

“I’m just saying,” Prompto started, pitchy and almost whiny after about half an hour of pushing his point, “we can’t _actually_ ride chocobos all day, but we can get chocobos on the car so we can ride chocobos all day!”

Gladio responded, stepping back with, “That’s dumb. We’re driving a fancy car across the world, it’s gotta look classy.” He advanced like he’d parried Prompto back, jostling Prompto out of the way and flipping a few pages. “I like the racing stripes and the white taillights. It’s distinctive.”

The third step came naturally, a scoff from Ignis and his long arm looping around Prompto to turn the pages. “Classy? Hardly.” He stopped and pointed at a gradient of purple. “A simple paint job, elegant and simple, will be plenty. Subtle, understated, yet very attractive.”

“'Understated,' says the man in coeurl-print,” Gladio snarked, and got an elbow to the side in reward, knocking a grunt out of him as Prompto glared up at him.

“At least Iggy wears a shirt!”

“And now the coeurl-print defense squad starts making noise.”

Noctis rolled his eyes and sidled up beside Prompto and Gladio’s argument, the two of them still smiling: Gladio in his sharp-toothed, mean way, and Prompto trying to hold back a grin while pretending to be serious. Noctis, however, just took the catalogue without asking and sauntered over to Cindy, and pointed at the page he had memorized.

“This one.”

“Sounds good!” Cindy beamed and saluted with her wrench. “I’ll go get some gloves on and apply the vinyl now!” She sauntered to the back of the shop, and Noctis turned to see his three companions staring at him with mixed expressions of bemusement (Gladio’s smirk pinched with annoyance), amusement (Prompto a second away from laughing), and curiosity (Ignis’ raised eyebrow).

“It’s my dad’s car.” Noctis put his hands on his hips. “We can change it and take turns next time we come here for repairs, but I get to choose first.”

Ignis threw up his hands in surrender, smiling, and Prompto shrugged, contented with the answer. Gladio’s smirk relaxed, and he shook his head. “Guess that’s fair, but remember, it’s ours now.”

“Yeah.” Noctis glanced back in the direction of him. He couldn’t see the shimmering silhouette of the Citadel from here, the sky already seeming empty without the distant reflection of the wall, but he knew where it had been, and that they weren’t going back.

In hardly half an hour, Cindy had finished smoothing on the last of the vinyl, and Noctis circled around the car to admire it. Jagged silver-white lines adorned the doors, accenting the enormous skull on the hood.

“Little morbid, Prince, but I like your style,” Cindy said as she dusted her hands, and Noctis ran his hand over the image of the skull.

“It’s a royal motif.” _Memento mori_ , or so his father had told them their emblem had meant. He squeezed his eyes shut against the memory of his father, and tried not to think about why the car was his now. The fact remained, immutable and irreversible, so Noctis couldn’t help but remember.

Ignis patted him on the back as he approached the car. “A bold decision.”

“Yeah,” Gladio concurred as he checked out the decorations. “The Niffs’ll see us coming, and they better run scared.”

“Hell yeah, dude!” Prompto cackled and pumped his fist. “That’s badass!”

“Yeah,” Noctis finally said, smiling, and opened the door. 

It was his father’s car, but his now. Just like the responsibility that came with it, and the responsibility he took for the people in it with him. 


	5. Leather & Sword

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 5, for Gladtober and Noctober - Leather and Sword

**5: Leather & Sword**

The red embers of the fire burned low, just enough to illuminate their campsite, enough that Noctis could easily watch Gladio examining the edge of his Engine Blade. He tested the blade with his thumb, running the pad down the side, then took a bit of leather from the Armiger and ran it against the blade. His mouth worked as he examined the edge, then the pad of his thumb. 

“You need to keep it sharp. I can tell that fighting with the MTs is dulling it.” He took out a whetstone, and Noctis sat forward with interest.

“Dad told me the Armiger helps preserve things. It’s how we can keep food in there without a refrigerator.” His throat worked for a second as he thought of what his father had taught him of their magic, of those rare days when Regis would sit him down and try to explain to him how it all worked. Gladio, deliberately looking past his momentary crisis, shrugged.

“That might be so, but the proof’s in the pudding, so they say, and I’m not confident you’d be able to cut pudding with this.” He smirked at Noctis, then ran the whetstone down the length of the blade. “Make sure to test it every once in a while, alright? It’ll give me a little peace of mind.” 

“Whatever you say.” Noctis watched sparks fly off the edge of the blade as Gladio’s steady hand pushed the whetstone down to the tip, away from him, towards the fire. “Won’t that wear it down?”

“Eventually, but it’ll take a lot more than a few strokes of the whetstone to wear it away. It’d take years of sharpening and honing a blade this quality to really damage it.” Gladio pointedly ran the whetstone down the blade a few times, evenly and steadily, knees spread wide to brace himself as he put his whole body into each stroke. The shirring noise vibrated in Noctis’ chest, and he exhaled and sat forward to watch as Gladio rhythmically sharpened the sword.   
  
Then, he took that same leather cloth and ran the blade down it again, and examined the cut. “That’s better.” He gripped the blade using the leather to brace his hand, and extended the hilt towards Noctis with a wink. “Keep it sharp for me, Majesty.”

Noctis accepted the hilt, but held Gladio’s gaze, lit gold by the embers, as he took hold. “I kinda like when you do it for me.”

Gladio laughed, crackling with mirth. The fire swallowed the noise and the heat covered the moment in shades of red. 


	6. Chosen & Tattoo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Noctober and Promptober - "Chosen" & "Tattoo"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The theme of "chosen" is a little more subtle than usual. ;D Enjoy!

**6: Chosen & Tattoo**

The bunk room was eerily quiet, with only the sounds of the vents pumping out recycled air and the occasional groaning of machinery somewhere in the belly of the Keep. Gladio was sleeping fitfully as he rested off his injuries, and Ignis was still and silent in the chair beside his bunk. Noctis was too restless to sleep, and Prompto was pacing near him, loaded with nervous energy like a shaken can of soda. Watching Prompto wear a groove in Iedolas’ grim tiles wasn’t helping Noctis’ pent-up energy, and he motioned to Prompto.

“Hey. C’mere.” 

Prompto started, but scurried back to Noctis and perched on the bed next to him. Noctis extended a hand towards his back, then stopped short. “Is it cool if I…” He trailed off, and Prompto glanced to see him mid-motion.

“Oh. Yeah.” Prompto smiled softly. “Go ahead.” 

Prompto still jumped a little when Noctis laid his hand across his back. He hid his grimace and granted Prompto as much soothing contact as he thought Prompto could stand, rubbing small, soothing circles between his shoulder blades. “You’re still thinking about it, aren’t you?”

Prompto bit his lip hard, clearly fighting with the truth when his instinct probably was to hide it, but he managed a jerky nod. “Sorry, it’s… it’s all I’ve been thinking about, since I found out.” He hung his head. “Maybe longer. I’ve had the mark forever, I just… I didn’t know what it meant until now. I wondered, but-”

“You don’t need to hide it anymore, you know.” Noctis glanced at the wristband that obscured his barcode. It still made him sick that Prompto had it, that someone had barcoded actual babies like cellphones or candy bars, and the only reason Noctis had ever met him was a stroke of luck that rescued him from being just another MT. “It doesn’t mean anything. You’re not what they made you for; you’re so much more than that.”

“But I can’t change that I was made for that.” Prompto squeezed his eyes shit tight, knuckles going white in balled fists. “I hate it. And I hate that I’m going to have to wear evidence of it forever.”

“You could cover it up.” Noctis covered Prompto’s hand with his, then dragged his fingers over the barcode and up Prompto’s forearm. “Get a cool tattoo, like Gladio’s. That way, you can look at something you chose, instead. It’ll be more ‘you.’”

“I guess I could do that.” Prompto turned his arm over and stared at the wristband, as if he could still see the codeprint through it, and around the angry scrapes and bruises down his arms from being hung on Ardyn’s rack. “I could just black it out, or maybe work it into something else.”

“Yeah, for sure. Just choose something cool, okay? That way, when we see it, it’ll mean Prompto.” Noctis grinned at him, and Prompto shakily grinned back. 

There were things a person could and couldn’t choose for themselves, and Noctis knew what it meant to have some choices thrust upon you. Still, if he had his choice in the matter, he would choose Prompto’s happiness every time, and once they’d gotten the Crystal and got out of this place, he was going to help Prompto find whatever happiness there was out there for him. 


	7. Childhood & Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Noctober and Igtober - "Childhood" and "Fire"

**7: Childhood & Fire**

Ignis was good at following directions. Surely he could handle a recipe; after all, that was just following directions, and Ignis’ tutor and Uncle both praised him on how very good he was at reading, comprehending, and carrying out instructions. 

Perhaps that was one of the reasons he was allowed to stay with Noctis, even when Noctis was unhappy no matter what Ignis did. 

The recipe he was trying to replicate wasn’t the one Noctis had tried in Tenebrae last year, he was certain of that. When he’d tried to repeat Noctis’ description to Uncle, Uncle had tutted Ignis and told him, “If you’re going to learn to bake, we should start with something simple. Why don't we make cookies?”

Ignis was agreeable enough, and open to suggestions. It would be worth it to see Noctis’ smile, after all Noctis had been through. He found a recipe for cookies that he thought would suit Noctis’ palate for the sweet but would still be fit for a Prince’s table. Uncle’s big cookbook had a recipe for something called “Millionaire’s Shortbread,” which was simply shortbread covered with caramel and topped with chocolate. 

It seemed so easy, when Ignis read the recipe. Make the shortbread, make the caramel, pour the caramel on the shortbread, then put tempered chocolate on top. Four simple steps, really. Ignis could handle it easily, and it probably wouldn’t take more than the hour between when his tutor left and when his Uncle returned with Noctis.

Ignis tied on the apron Uncle had given him to cook in, and got to work.

The shortbread came together like a dream, crumbly and golden-brown in the pan. Ignis didn’t dare taste it to make certain it had come out well - this was for Noctis, after all - but moved right on to making the caramel. 

He had no idea then, or so he would realize ten years on when he reminisced, that sugar cooking was playing with fire for an amateur chef, and when one played with fire, one often got burned. 

First, Ignis mixed up how much butter was supposed to go into it and added two instead of one, and had to try to retrieve a stick of butter before it melted too much. Then, the sugar simply wouldn’t melt, just making a gloppy mess in the pot. Ignis stirred and stirred feverishly, only to be surprised when the sugar finally did get hot enough and begin boiling and popping. Ignis yelled when some of the hot sugar flew out of the pot and stuck to his glasses. He dropped the wooden spoon he’d been using and began to try to pick it off, but ceasing stirring only made the sauce bubble more, spattering him with rocket-hot liquid sugar. Ignis rushed to stir it up again, but his frantic stirring only made the angry boiling sugar spit more, until suddenly, it was foaming up and boiling over. The boil-over mixed with the butter Ignis had dripped onto the stovetop without noticing, and it all drained into the gas flame below, where the butter and sugar caught fire.

Ignis yelled and dodged back from the welt of flame that swallowed his pot, his eyebrows singed and his glasses stained black. He grabbed the whole pot and put it in the sink, then tore off his apron and stuffed it down over the flame to smother it, then turned off the burner and the pilot light. 

He panted to catch his breath from the panic, but it was only as he calmed down from the rush that he realized his hands were hurting, and when he turned his palms over, he found his hands blistering red. 

The door opened before Ignis could properly react, and Uncle came in with Noctis in his wheelchair. Uncle stopped suddenly in the door as he took in the scene, eyes gone wide and fingers spreading across the wheel, before he pushed Noctis the rest of the way in, shut the door to the prince's apartment, and hurried to his side.

"Young man," he seethed, tone even and vicious, "I told you not to use the stove without me. I expect you to follow my directions."

"But - Uncle - Noctis' pastries - you said to start with-"

"No arguments." Uncle dropped Ignis' hands. "I'll get the first aid kit. You hold still.” Uncle hurried to the washroom, as Ignis hung his head. 

“Psst.” 

Ignis looked up to see Noctis frantically motioning towards him from his wheelchair. Ignis glanced back towards the hallway - Uncle was still rummaging through the supply cabinet - and crept towards Noctis. 

Noctis held his hands out towards Ignis, and took them when he was close enough. He squeezed tight, closing his eyes in focus, and Ignis felt a pulse of warmth off of Noctis’ palms. When Noctis let go, Ignis turned his hands over to see that they were healed. Noctis managed a tiny smile. 

“Lady Lunafr- Luna… Lady Luna showed me how to heal little things. S’the Crystal.” He shook his hands off. “I’m trying to practice, a little.” 

Ignis looked at the smooth skin on his palms, then bowed his head with gratitude. “You did really well.”

“But you were trying to practice too, right?” Noctis was still smiling. “You said you’d learn how to make pastries. Were you trying?”

“I was trying something easier.” 

“I’ll be able to heal bigger things someday, too. Dad says he was able to heal his friends just by being near them.” Noctis glanced down at his palms, then past them to his thighs. “I can’t even heal myself yet. So, next time, we can get better at it.” 

Ignis relented and returned Noctis’ smile. “We can both get better.”


	8. Shopping & Dogs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Day 8: Gladtober & Promptober, shopping and dogs!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one didn't turn out quite how it did in my mind, and it's more of a meditation. Enjoy anyway!

**8: Shopping & Dogs**

The hustle and bustle of Insomnia never seemed to change, too many people, too many bodies. Gladio longed for peaceful solitude, somewhere where there was nobody but him and the wilderness. Gladio read books about long hunts in the Duscaen wilds, just one man and the beast he was hunting, for days on end, and sometimes daydreamed of petitioning to spend a few weeks outside of the walls for a bit of introspection.

But no. Not today, and probably never. For today, at least, his only real responsibility was to get Iris a new set of ballet shoes. Then, most days after that, with the exception of maybe one day off in a blue moon, he would be doing what he was always meant to do - taking care of his Prince. 

Which was fine with him, really. But the call of the wild persisted.

He window-shopped the outdoors store as he passed, coveting the big canvas tent displayed in the window, the camp chairs circled around a false fire, a grill kit with a Dutch oven, and sleeping bags that would keep a man warm in Ghorovas Rift. Someday, he thought. Gladio had a whole suite of camping equipment, and he got to go out to the big park near the outskirts of the city to camp sometimes, but it wasn’t the same as the romance in his head. Still, he took what he could get. Maybe, someday, if they ever won the damn war, he’d be able to go out and camp at his leisure, but for now, he’d settle for the wild wherever he could take it. He’d get a fancy new tent then. 

For now, he roamed between skyscrapers and down the crowded streets, Iris’ ballet shoes in a bag slung over his shoulder, and wove his way through the crowd towards the train station. The moment the big park came into view, he cut across the road to dodge through the gates, relieved both for a shortcut and a little bit of breathing room. In the city, there wasn’t a lot of open space. 

Just as he was about to turn for home, he heard a familiar voice yelling and turned to see Prompto - a city kid like no other - being dragged through the park by six dogs, all strapped to his waist. He rushed towards Prompto, which only made the dogs run faster.

“Whoa-whoa-whoa!” Prompto yelled, trying to dig his heels in, and Gladio picked up speed, like a Sabertooth closing in on an Anak, and finally just grabbed Prompto by the waist and lifted him so the dogs ended up trying to drag him instead, stopping all of them. 

Prompto, stunned, glanced back at Gladio, and grinned, wobbly and uncertain. “Thanks, big guy.”

“Don’t mention it.” Gladio looked at the dogs. They were a range of sizes, from a huge hunting dog down to a little puffball no bigger than Gladio’s boot. “I didn’t know you were a dog walker.”

“Oh, I love dogs, but it’s my neighbor’s kid’s job.” Prompto grinned sheepishly. “She has the flu and asked me to pick up her route. She said she’d split the money with me for the day, and tomorrow’s grocery-shopping day anyway, so…” He shrugged, his whole back shifting between Gladio’s hands. Gladio raised an eyebrow. 

“How about I give you a hand? I wouldn’t want these guys dragging you off into the wild.” Gladio set Prompto down again and unhooked the hunting dog’s lead from the waist harness Prompto was wearing. Prompto evinced sheer gratitude, admiration in his eyes as Gladio kept his shopping bag in one hand and held the big dog in the other, and Gladio had to grin back at him. 

The city had its charms, Gladio supposed, and as he walked along with Prompto through the park, he took them in and appreciated what he had. 


	9. Omen & Agile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 9, Igtober and FFXVtober - Agile and Omen

**9: Agile & Omen**

Altissia was pure chaos, and Ignis ran through the streets of the blocks nearest the altar, dodging the MT patrols when he could avoid them, and tearing through them when he couldn’t. He had no time to waste.

The storms overhead were swirling and wild, and Ignis could just catch glimpses of Leviathan’s writhing form in the mists. However, in between it all, he could still see Noctis, a flash of blue in the skies nearly as dark as night, proving himself to the Hydraean the only way he could. The thought of it ached in Ignis’ breast - Noctis shouldn’t have to confront this alone. Regis had asked them - all of them - to follow him. Cid and Cor had warned them to stand by each other, like brothers. The affection in Ignis’ heart was greater than that of any mere companion or brother, and he’d long been the one who always was at Noctis’ right hand.

He couldn’t be here - there was no point in being somewhere that Noctis wasn’t. He had to move faster!

His long legs carried him easily, leaving each battlefield as quickly as he could to reach his destination. Strength mattered nothing in this moment, only agility. He would save his strength for when he was at Noctis’ side, fighting fate with his King. 

The skies only got ever darker, and Noctis’ magic shone brighter. It was brilliant, but the dark skies still portended a deadly omen, a warning - the day would only become more deadly.

Ignis didn’t care that he was running towards danger, possible even his own demise. He needed to be at Noctis’ side - his devotion demanded no less - and he sprinted onwards towards his King.


	10. Daylight & Bros

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 10: FFXVtober and Noctober, Daylight & Bros

**10: Daylight & Bros**

The skies barely shifted between light and darkness when night became morning. Noctis knew. He’d laid awake in the tent, watching the swirling clouds of eternal night through the plastic window, watching their last campfire die, the chairs left sitting where they’d all been set. Nobody had wanted the night to end, knowing it would likely be their last chance to simply sit around a fire and tell stories, reminisce, reflect and relax.

It might have been Noctis’ last night alive, here on the plains of Leide in the tent he’d called home for months when his home was taken out from under him. The time had come to return home, for whatever it was worth, and there would be none of the fanfare he thought would come with returning home. 

No cheering crowds, no celebrating. Just him and his brothers, finally crossing the borders between away and a place that had been their home a lifetime ago.

Ignis’ phone went off with an alarm, alerting him to rise, but Ignis didn’t stir. Usually, he was the first up, awake before the alarm even thought of going off. Noctis sat up first instead and put a hand on Ignis’ shoulder. Ignis started, then sat up slowly, and found his visor. Noctis nodded, though Ignis couldn’t see it, then moved the phone over to where Prompto was fitfully resting. Prompto let out a tiny groan, then rolled up to his feet, jumping to a stand and stretching his arms over head. Noctis moved to Gladio next, alighting at his side and touching his shoulder. Gladio, too, sat up, then ran his fingers through his hair, before tying it up into the half-ponytail he’d been wearing since Noctis had returned. Then, he stared into the tent wall, expression inscrutable.

None of them said anything, until Noctis broke the silence.

“Good morning, guys.” 

Gladio cracked a smile. “You say that, but…”

“Not much of a morning, is it?” Prompto chuckled and smoothed his hair into place.

“It will be,” Ignis remarked, turning his head, if not his gaze, towards Noctis. Noctis wanted to laugh, but on a day like today, it would probably just come out as a sob. 

“You guys ready to really make a day of it?” Noctis shifted forward, head ducked, and pushed the tent flap open.

If he did his job right, the next time they opened their eyes in the morning, they would see daylight. 


	11. Crystal & Crying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 11: Noctober and Promptober - Crystal and Crying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Crystal is actually the day 12 prompt for Noctober and I had a mix-up, but I'm posting it anyway <3)

**11: Crystal & Crying**

The clang of his fist against the walkway echoed like the tolling of a bell, as Prompto pounded the floor beneath him over and over. He hitched back a deep sob, then looked up into the Crystal again.

Not five minutes before, Noctis had been reaching out of it, surprise and terror in his eyes as his body was pulled in. Prompto could still see his reflection, could still hear his last gasps echoing in the chamber. After this long, he was probably only hearing his own mouth, unintelligible noises working around the grief lodged in his chest like a blade through his lungs. 

Ignis and Gladio had the grace to give him a little space, but he was certain they could still hear him sobbing openly from where they stood at the other end of the walkway. It wasn’t fair - surely they were mourning too - but Prompto had been so afraid just a few days ago that he would never see Noctis again, that he didn’t want him around anymore, that the love between them had been broken on a whim. Those wounds had only been soothed a scant few  _ hours _ ago, they’d hardly been back together enough for Prompto to get it back into his head:  _ you belong here at his side, he cares about you, you’re going to stay at his side _ . All that betrayed by something out of his hands.

Was Noctis even really in there? Or had he just been sucked away to the afterlife, drowned in the aether, never to be seen again?

Prompto let out another sob, tears dripping onto the walkway, and he turned his gaze to the Crystal. He didn’t think he could hate anything more than Ardyn, and he’d been angry enough to turn his gun onto him without a second’s hesitation. If he could break the Crystal with any hope of retrieving Noctis, if shooting that horrible thing would make any difference, he’d break out every weapon he had, go on a rampage against its mirror surface and shred into the crags of the geode until it had finally split open and gave him some satisfaction.

However, when he’d even tried to grab at its surface, Ignis had stayed his hand and warned him what the Crystal would do to any it deemed unworthy.

Maybe that was what it was. Prompto just wasn’t worthy to do anything but lay in the Crystal’s shadow and cry.

And for now, he would. 

His fist echoed off of the walkway like the tolling of a funeral bell, as Prompto mourned something that the fates decided he shouldn’t have. 


	12. Glasses & Gadgets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 12: For Igtober and Promptober, Glasses & Gadgets

**12: Glasses and Gadgets**

Fort Vaullerey had been a _gift_. 

Alright, not the fort itself, that place was a maze at its best and a bullet-hell-hole at its worst. When the MTs had flooded out and brought the Magitek mechs with it, it had been everything Prompto hated most about dealing with Niffs. But also? Everything he had found satisfying about it. 

When he was fighting the wild animals made rabid by the hubbub caused by the invasion and the depletion of their natural resources, Prompto always felt bad shooting at them, disturbed at the thought of taking their lives and looking for the best places to strike at them. When it was the Magitek armors, it was more like a puzzle. Take out this hinge here and that screw there, and they all go to pieces, no muss, no fuss, no teeth, no blood. 

And to the victor go the spoils! Prompto had retrieved a neat little pile of guns and gadgets from the disassembled armors, and in their hurry to get out, Prompto had just grabbed everything he could and shoved it into the Armiger to sort out later. 

Now, at camp, he laid out a tarp and emptied his spoils out onto it, grinning at the pile of mechanisms and metal. Then, he summoned his gun cleaning kit and tools, and got down on his knees to begin.

Ignis peered over from the camp stove, an eyebrow raised. “Do you know what to do with all that?”

“Same as I’ve done before! Sort it out, find out what goes with what, and figure out if I can make the engines work now that they’re not attached to the MTs anymore.” He moved a few elements of armor plating aside. “We might be able to sell the rest of the scrap metal for gil, too.”

“Ah.” Ignis gave an approving nod and smile. “I trust your judgment, of course, but do let me know if you need any assistance. I haven’t your eye for machines, but I’m always eager to provide an extra hand.” 

“No worries, Specs, I got eyes and hands for days!” He grinned at Ignis, who stood stark in the lamplight beside the stove. as the sun continued to sink under the horizon. 

Day would be an issue, wouldn’t it? The sun was going down fast and Prompto needed all the light he could get if he was going to do it right. Not to mention, those eyes he had just been thinking about. Accuracy was important when it came to those tiny wires and bits.

Prompto wiped his hands off on a sanitary cloth, then removed his contacts. He summoned his glasses case and popped his old soda-bottle-bottom spectacles onto his face, brought out an extra lamp, and set down to work.

However, he’d hardly even worked out the first weird gun from the pile when he heard a sharp inhale from nearby.

“Oh,” Ignis said softly, and Prompto shot head head up to see Ignis staring at him, wide-eyed behind his own spectacles. “You - er - you wear glasses?”

“Yeah! Sorry, they’re kinda dorky, but I think they’re a little better for my eyes than my contacts when I need to focus on super tiny details.” He sheepishly pushed the bridge of his glasses up his nose, but Ignis faintly shook his head.

“No - erm, not at all. I’m merely.” Ignis cleared his throat. “Intrigued.” 

“Intrigued, huh?” Prompto chuckled, then cocked his head and winked at Ignis. Ignis’ cheeks pinked, distinct even in the dimming light, and he turned to cover the dish on the camp stove.

“Indeed. Erm, would you mind if I observed?” 

“Observe away.” Prompto winked and sat back, and Ignis carefully got to his knees on the tarp. “So, what’s caught your eye?”

“Tell me about that curious gun you were just about to work on.” Ignis motioned with his open palm, and Prompto felt a burst of satisfaction. 

Ignis, interested in what he was doing? That was a real gift. 

As he explained, however, he didn’t notice that Ignis wasn’t at all paying attention to the machines, only to Prompto. 


	13. Admirer & Flustered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 13, for Promptober and Igtober: Admirer & Flustered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> p... pwomnis good.

**13: Admirer & Flustered**

Ignis had no right to look this handsome all day, every day. Seriously, how did a person wake up that attractive, stay that good-looking through making breakfast, driving all day, fighting monsters, and keeping a cool head the entire time, and turn down into their sleeping bags just as sexy as he had been when he’d woken up?

Prompto couldn’t fathom it. It was impossible. Ignis shone in Prompto's eyes, gleaming like a jewel, whenever Prompto looked. 

He couldn’t look away, either, like Ignis was a magnet and his eyes were solid steel. He kept taking pictures whenever he could just for an excuse to steal a glimpse. 

Ignis flipping pancakes with one hand while smoothly sipping Ebony out of the other, that was worthy of the photo album. He watched him through the lens, barely remembering to hit the trigger. The picture came out awkward, but Prompto was still glad he’d seen it. 

Ignis driving with his head tipped back and the sun shining on his proud brow, a resting smile in place as he hummed to the music, that was cause to stare. Prompto lifted his camera to his face to make it look like he was just waiting for the perfect moment to snap. It never came, or perhaps every second of it Prompto could bear to watch was so perfect that he never knew when to take the shot. He finally just settled for turning the camera around for a selfie, catching his own blush in the viewfinder when he turned it back around. 

Ignis resting by the fire with his phone in his hand, perhaps reading the headlines, or perhaps looking up a cheat code for the current King’s Knight special event? He glowed, and Prompto was drawn like a moth to a flame. He took up his camera for another shot, when Ignis glanced towards him.

“Ah, Prompto, were you going to review your photographs for the day?” He put his phone down, and Prompto didn’t even have a second to mourn the lost moment as Ignis rose and approached him, and Prompto nearly fumbled the camera. “Mind if I take a look?”

“Oh, yeah!” Noctis was suddenly at his shoulder as if he'd point-warped in. “Let me see, too.” 

Prompto sputtered, flustered, as Noctis reached down and pressed the “review” button, and the last image in the roll popped up - Ignis, doing a cool backflip away from a coeurl. “Hey, that’s a good shot.”

“Th-thanks?” It came out like a question, _crap._ Prompto swallowed and tried to keep the pitch of his voice low. "Just, uh, snapping whatever catches my eye!" Noctis moved to the next one: Ignis again, strolling down the road, with Noctis’ foot just in view. “Aw man, just missed Noct.”

“Indeed,” Ignis replied with amusement dancing in his eyes, as Noctis clicked to the next photo: Ignis, impatiently tapping his foot on the dock as they waited for Noctis to pull in a catch. “Were you a bit bored at the pier?”

“N-no. I, uh, I make my own fun.”

“Do you, now?” Noctis chuckled, then shoved the camera back into Prompto’s hands. “I better let you review the rest of these by yourself, so you can keep the ‘secret admirer’ thing a ‘secret.’” He strolled away, leaving Prompto fumbling his words in his chair as Ignis gazed down at him, eyes aglow. 

Then, impossibly, Ignis knelt beside Prompto. “You do have a knack for catching my best side. Why don’t you show me the rest?” He winked at him. “And for every little thing you see in me, perhaps I’ll tell you something I see in you.” 

Prompto’s jaw fell, but he clicked to the next photograph, lost for words and lost again in the gleam in Ignis’ eyes. 


	14. Phoenix Down & Courage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 14: FFXVtober and Gladtober, Phoenix Down and Courage

**14: Phoenix Down & Courage**

A heartbeat. Two. Three.

“Four. Five. Six.” Someone was speaking over him, evenly, soothingly. The sky was blue when he opened his eyes. The ground was hard under his back. There were hands on his chest, and he wanted to push them off - there was something he was supposed to be doing - but he couldn’t move. “Seven. Eight. Nine. Breathe, Gladio.” 

Gladio sucked in air - his chest ached when it expanded - and he had to wheeze it all out at once. Ignis was kneeling down over him, his hand still on his chest, and now that Gladio had cleared his eyes, he could see Ignis’ brow knit up where he was knelt over him. Ignis nodded, then lifted his face away for a scant second. “He’s back with us.”

“Thank the Six,” Prompto gasped from nearby, and Gladio tried to look toward him, but Ignis tapped on his chest.

“Gladio, pay attention to me.” Ignis continued to speak in the same even, calm voice, but Gladio felt thin fingers slipping between his own thicker digits, flexing and taking hold of his hand. “You were gone for nearly five minutes. We brought you back with a Phoenix Down. You may be experiencing some delirium.” His expression shifted, mild and gentle but still inquiring. “Do you recall what happened?”

Gladio tried to work his jaw, but his jaw was still clenched tight, locked. He thought a moment - the Zu. The claws. Noctis had been too close. Gladio had done his job. 

“Did my job,” he rasped, and the hand squeezing his tightened.

“I didn’t want that,” Noctis whispered. He was shaking when he stood. “Not like this.”

“My job,” Gladio repeated. “Protected you.”

“We brought you back, and that’s the important part,” Ignis said firmly, insistently, and not unkindly, and the way he said it closed the argument. “You’re still here with us.”

Gladio could hear his breathing, and his heart was beating steadily again, stuttering against his ribcage under Ignis’ palm. Prompto came into view holding a bottle of water.

“Small sips, big guy,” he said, and tipped the bottle towards Gladio’s mouth. “We got you.”

“That was a courageous thing you did,” Ignis told him, “but let’s not do it again.”

Gladio made a noncommittal noise around the water on his tongue, but swallowed thickly and shut his eyes again. The sky would still be blue when he opened them, and the earth would still be beneath him. Some things were unchanging. 

If he had to die for his King again tomorrow, he would. 


	15. Chocobo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 15: For Igtober and Promptober, Chocobo!

**15: Chocobo**

“YAHOO!” Prompto hollered, head tossed back, as his chocobo crested a little hill and soared down onto the dusty desert below. Ignis laughed behind him, only a few paces behind. 

“Making your wish come true, are they?” Ignis asked in a half-yell to be heard over the wind whistling past their ears. “You did say ‘all day,’ did you not?”

“Can’t get enough of ‘em!” Prompto patted his bird’s shoulder, and the chocobo cried with delight and sped up. “Come on, Iggy, last one to Hammerhead’s a rotten egg!” 

“Now, now, do wait up.” Ignis spurred his bird on, but Prompto didn’t miss the way his glasses caught the sunlight or his subtle smirk. “Birds of a feather flock together, after all!”

“You’re just mad I’m gonna _beak_ you!”

“Prompto, don’t give me an excuse to _roast_ you.” Ignis dug his heels in again, and his bird let out a great _WARK_ and jumped in the air, fluttering to the ground. “Keep up now; we can reach our destination without _filet_.”

Prompto howled with laughter and tugged on the reins, then leaned into her neck. “No worries, Iggy, _toucan_ play at that game! Just you watch out or I’ll make this _unpheasant!”_

“I’ll cr _emu_.”

As Prompto and Ignis laughed, Gladio and Noctis trotted along behind them, groaning. “Someone,” Noctis muttered as his bird bounded at a steady pace, “ought to rein them in.”

“Don’t you start.” Gladio groaned. “Puns this bad ought to be illegal.”

Noctis couldn’t help but grin in Gladio’s direction as he sped past him. “Don’t you mean ill-eagle?”

“Don’t test me.”

They ran the rest of the day like that, their laughter bouncing along, the rhythm matching the beat of the chocobos' feet.


	16. Gamble & Flying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 16: Promptober & Gladtober - Gamble & Flying

**16: Gamble & Flying**

“It’s a gamble, but I think it’ll work.” Gladio had ducked down with Prompto behind a rock, and he pointed. “I’ll take my mark next to that stomped plant.” The ground trembled, and Prompto peered over to see Ignis and Noctis leading the Behemoth towards another crumbling statue in the Keycatrich courtyard. “The second I get close, he’s going to see me, but if we can get you behind him fast enough-”

“It should be enough.” Prompto took a few deep breaths, and Gladio grabbed his shoulder.

“You got this. We got this.”

“Yeah.” Prompto nodded, then opened his eyes to meet Gladio’s intense gaze. “Let’s do this.” 

Prompto pressed his back against the rock and observed over the edge as Gladio rushed back into the fray. He struck at the Behemoth a few more times, but the Behemoth was way out of their league and Gladio might as well have been fanning him. Prompto held his breath so tight he thought his chest might burst, as Gladio skidded back a few times as the Behemoth swung its horns at him. He caught each blow, pressing back with the side of his blade, until Ignis threw his daggers and distracted it again.

Then, Gladio stomped back to the mark, legs planted but knees loose, and he waved to Prompto. Prompto vaulted the boulder and ran towards Gladio. Gladio got down and laced his hands into a sling, and Prompto bounded towards him, his boot landing on Gladio’s hands. Gladio launched him skyward, and Prompto released the breath he’d been holding as he soared overhead.

He spread his arms like he was flying, and watched the sky whirl over him and the ground - and the Behemoth - under him. He closed his eyes for what felt like an eternity as he turned in the air, then opened them as he spiraled towards the ground.

He landed on his feet right behind the Behemoth, then took out the Fira magic Gladio had given him. Gladio was already hauling Ignis and Noctis away as fast as his feet could carry him - and them - as Prompto wound up and pitched the Fira at the Behemoth. The beast roared and thrashed as it was swallowed by some of the most powerful magic Noctis could muster, and as it finally, _finally_ fell to the ground in defeat, Prompto raised his hands and cried victory.

“WE DID IT! WE DID IT!” He ran towards where the others had escaped, hands still raised. Noctis high-fived one, Ignis clapped his palm to the other, but Gladio wrapped his arms around Prompto’s waist and tossed him in the air again.

“Goddamn right, you did it!” He caught Prompto in his arms as he landed, and Prompto found himself looking into Gladio’s eyes and feeling like he was flying all over again. 


	17. Spicy & Mountain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 17: Promptober and Gladtober - Spicy & Mountain

**17: Spicy & Mountain**

Ravatogh loomed large overhead as Prompto released his chocobo to run back to the post, and he whistled as he tried to see the peak in all the crags. Gladio, beside him, gazed up into the slope like it was a Crystalmas tree and someone had put his present at the very top.

“Impressive, ain’t it?” Gladio rocked on his heels and tucked his hands in his back pockets, squaring himself up against the mountain. “I’ve heard about it, seen photographs, but I’ve never seen it up close before. Ain’t that something?”

“It really is. They tell you it’s hot, but you have no idea ‘til you get there!” Prompto fanned himself, laughing, then took his camera out. “Might as well get a photo for myself!”

Gladio snorted as he took the shot, then nudged Prompto’s arm with his palm. “C’mon. You know the better shot is from the very top.” He jogged a few steps towards the mountain. “Race you up! Ready, steady, go!”

“Sure - hey!” Prompto realized Gladio was getting a head start and gave chase, with Ignis and Noctis following at a steady walk a few steps behind. 

Prompto and Gladio treated the mountain like their own personal obstacle course, dodging around rocks and scaling the slopes as quickly as they could, stopping only when the wildlife got fierce. They kept teasing and jabbing playfully at one another as they scrambled up the steep path, but it was a friendly competition. Prompto knew, because when the sand skidded out under his feet, Gladio still swung a hand back to keep him from sliding down.

Even so, Gladio whooped and celebrated when he beat Prompto to the top by one good dash uphill. Prompto laughed as he crossed onto the haven, seeing Gladio still pumping his fist and panting from the exertion, red-faced from the heat and effort but lit up from the adrenaline.

“Nice job.” Prompto extended his hand, but as Gladio turned to give him the high-five, Prompto spun around, dodged behind Gladio, and slapped him on the ass. “But I’ll get ya next time!” 

Gladio snatched Prompto by the waist and ruffled his hair into a bird’s nest, then let him go, still chuckling. “Yeah, you can try.” 

Prompto got his chance when the sun went down on the mountain, as Ignis revealed one of his discoveries during the day: “Ravatogh Reaper peppers.” Ignis was handling some of the scavenged peppers gingerly, gloves on, and only touching them with his fingertips. “They’re the hottest on Eos. I might pickle them in an effort to make them palatable.”

“Ooh, I ate one of these once!” Prompto plucked one up from the little pile, though Ignis tsked him, and showed Gladio. “Remember?”

“I remember you turned as red as Ifrit’s asshole.” Gladio snorted, then squinted at it. “I’m just glad I noticed it wasn’t a cherry tomato before I put it in my mouth. Figured it was something funny from the way Noct acted when I saw it.”

“Yeah, but that was a crazy afternoon! Hottest thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.” Prompto gasped as inspiration struck. “Hey, you know what? I bet you can handle it.”

“What? It’s the hottest thing in the world, I’ll die!” Gladio laughed, but Prompto punched his arm lightly. 

“You handled the hottest mountain in the world, no sweat! I bet you can do it!” 

The way Gladio’s eyes shone at that told Prompto he’d hit the right nerve.

The two of them sat on the edge of the haven, away from the fire and facing the crater of the volcano (at Noctis’ insistence, since “if you puke you’re doing it where I don’t have to watch”), and Prompto polished two peppers on the bottom of his shirt. He passed one to Gladio, who caught it in his glove-clad palm and looked it over.

“How do you do it?”

“Take it in one bite, chew it just until it’s broken up, then swallow.” Prompto sized up the little pepper, then grinned at Gladio. “Ready?”

Gladio blew air out of his mouth, then lifted the pepper. “Let's do it.”

Prompto held the pepper at the edge of his lips, faintly feeling the heat radiating off of the waxy skin already. “Ready…”

Gladio grimaced at the pepper. “Steady…”

“Go!” They said it together, then both popped the pepper into their mouths and bit down. 

Gladio began to breathe heavily, then panted and howled as he tried to swallow it down. Prompto chuckled but kept his mouth sealed tight to keep any more air from getting in and refreshing his tastebuds. He chewed a few times and swallowed hard, then breathed out and fanned his mouth. Gladio kept yelling and heaving, and Prompto waved to Ignis.

“Hey, could you get the big guy a glass of milk please?”

Prompto coached Gladio to hold the cold milk on his tongue until it soothed the burning away. Gladio had tears running down his face and snot in his stubble, and Prompto mopped his face with his bandanna. “You’re okay.”

Gladio finally exhaled again, gulping in clear air, but he rasped out, “I can still feel that in my throat.” He faced Prompto, bloodshot eyes still watery. “You win that round.”

“We were all winners today.” Prompto grinned and patted him on the back, and Gladio wrapped his arm around Prompto’s shoulder in return. 


	18. Meteor Shower & Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 18 - FFXVTober & Promptober: Meteor Shower and Stars

**18: Meteor Shower & Stars**

Prompto’s phone alarm tinkled softly on his bedside table, and Prompto first fished for his glasses, then grabbed the phone. He fumbled it a moment, then turned off the alarm. The phone screen opened to show a calendar event he’d set:

_ “Meteor shower 2nite!”  _

Prompto gasped and tumbled out of his bed. “That’s tonight!” He scrambled to his feet, but as he fumbled on his desk to grab his camera and a pair of socks, he heard a faint whimper beneath him. He gasped and spun around and saw that he’d woken Tiny. 

“Sorry!” He dropped to his knees in front of her, then patted her cheeks. She curled against his knees and pawed at his thighs, and he leaned close to her. “I just wanna go see the meteors. I’ll be right back.” He was about to get up, but she pressed her cold nose onto his legs. He squeaked, then realized: “You wanna go too, girl?” 

Tiny’s paw was still hurt, so Prompto put her over one of his shoulders and slung his camera bag over the other, and took them up the stairs to the balcony outside of his parents’ window. He crept past the pulled-up coverlet and to the glass doors, and pushed out onto the little balcony overlooking the backyard facing away from the street. There was less light pollution back here, and this late at night, most of the city’s lights were off. 

Prompto had heard about meteor showers outside of the Wall from his parents, how brilliant they could be. He knew that the bright lights of the Citadel and the faint shimmer of the Wall would make the shooting stars more dim, but he had to at least try to catch a glimpse. 

Sure enough, the moment his hand touched the railing, he saw something streak across the sky like a spark off of the edge of a firework, and he gasped and turned his camera on. He took a few shots, and though he could see the shooting stars through the lens, when he checked the camera reel in review, he couldn’t see them in the photographs. He sighed, then looked back up at the sky. The meteors were coming faster, like flares out of a Roman candle. He couldn’t catch it on film - maybe the Wall’s interference, or maybe his camera just wasn’t fast enough. However, he could capture this in his memory.

Tiny whined on his shoulder, and he tickled under her chin. “It’s pretty, huh?” He let his camera hang around his shoulder, and picked her up. The meteors were beautiful, leaving faint rainbow streaks in their wake, and Prompto sighed as they passed overhead. “I wonder if anyone else is watching?” 

He didn’t feel nearly as alone if he thought there might be some other little boy or girl somewhere out there, staring out their bedroom windows and watching the stars go by.

“Oh, aren’t you supposed to make a wish?” Prompto looked to Tiny, delicately squeezing her little paws in his fingers. “Make a wish, Tiny! Do you want to wish to go home? Or, maybe to wish to stay here?” He turned his face back up to the sky full of stars. “I think I’ll wish for… ah, maybe it won’t come true if I tell you.” He grinned and lifted her a little higher. “Okay, Tiny, make your wish. I’ll make mine, too.” 

The next morning, Tiny was gone, and Prompto wondered if her wish had come true. Then when he got a strange letter that smelled like sylleblossom perfume, he realized his wish might come true, too.


	19. Cat & Caged Bird

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 19: For Noctober & Gladtober, Cat and Caged Bird

**Day 19: Cat & Caged Bird**

Noctis was sprawled on his sofa in the sunlight like an especially languid black cat, head tipped back into the sun, and Gladio put his hands on his hips, disgusted as Noctis refused to rise. “Come on, you were due in the ring five minutes ago and it’s a ten minute drive over.”

“Do I really have to?” Noctis let out a deep sigh. “I’m tired. I had a chemistry exam today.”

“And I already trained recruits and ran drills for eight hours today, but I still need to put in an hour with you.” Gladio strode over to the couch, ready to lift Noctis and carry him off if he had to, but Noctis seemed to flatten himself to the cushions, like he was boneless. 

“Seriously, you can’t let me off the hook? I just want to nap and play video games, we can train some other time.”

“Our training time is now. Get up.”

Noctis let out the deep sigh that expelled all the air from his lungs, and he seemed to deflate. “Isn’t there literally anything you’d rather do?”

Gladio sighed, unfolding his arms, the light gleaming on the tattoos of feathers arrayed on his skin, and he stared hard at Noctis. “This is what I have to do. I don’t get a choice in it.”

Noctis sat up, the shifting light from his windows forming shadowy stripes on Gladio’s feathered arms, like the bars of a cage. Gladio’s gaze was hooded. 

“I’m coming,” Noctis said slowly, carefully, “but we have to do something fun after. Anything you want to do.”

Gladio’s expression softened just a little. “Whatever you say, Princess. Let’s go, I’ll drive.” 

Noctis rose, stretching, and as he followed Gladio to his car, he regretted that it was his lot to be Gladio’s captor as much as his friend.


	20. Sleep & Freckles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 20: Noctober and Promptober - Sleep and Freckles

**20: Sleep & Freckles**

Noctis winked an eye open and found he was very nearly where he last remembered being - sprawled on his bed on a lazy, chilly autumn afternoon, head still aching from a day of school and weapons training, the room dim but for a few lines of pinkish late-afternoon light gleaming around his drawn curtains. The only change from when he’d fallen asleep until when he’d woken up was that Prompto had been flopped on his belly reading comic books before, and at some point in Noctis’ impromptu nap, he’d pushed the book away and rolled over, arms pillowed under his head, and had fallen asleep himself. 

Prompto actually looked relaxed for once. He always seemed just a little bit tense, like his smile, as genuine and sweet as it was, was wound just a little too tight. Noctis enjoyed a little slackness in his cheeks, softness in his brow. His face was - for lack of a better word -  _ so cute. _

Not that he had dared tell Prompto that. Not yet. Maybe when Prompto didn’t always look so tense around him, and Noctis didn’t worry what the wrong word might do to their friendship.

Noctis rolled forward just a little, and Prompto turned in his sleep, and a splash of that sunlight spread over his face, lighting up the chocolate-drop brown freckles spattered across his face. Noctis found himself counting them over and over, wondering just how many there were. If freckles were gil, Prompto would be rich. He had tons,  from the darker dots like the deliberate dabs of the Gods’ paintbrush to the paler spatters like a gentle splash from the inkwell. Noctis could stare forever, looking for patterns and constellations like his skin was a star chart, like the whole sky could be found on him.

Prompto was more important than the rest of the universe, in Noctis’ opinion. The whole world was stacked up against him, but Prompto was on his side. 

Then, Prompto opened his eyes, glittering blue like the ocean, and his smile curved like the moon. Noctis lost sight of all the stars in the sky and everything else for that smile. “Hey, sleepyhead.” He yawned so broadly his voice squeaked in the bottom of his register. “You have a nice nap?”

“Can’t complain,” Noctis said, wishing he could say so much more. 


	21. Sweets & Recipe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 21, for Promptober and Igtober - Sweets and Recipe

**21: Sweets & Recipe**

Prompto lounged over the edge of the counter, watching Ignis roll out some sort of dough onto the granite. The kitchen smelled of tart fruit and sugar, wafting out of a mixture bubbling away in a pot on the stove behind him, and the rumble of the rolling pin as Ignis pressed down onto the dough. He stopped to check the thickness of the dough, then grabbed a round cutter like the one he saw used for biscuits and began to stamp out circles. His nimble fingers handled each little circle with expert care, pressing the rounds into a muffin tin and pushing the dough up and over the rims. He pivoted to give the mixture a stir, then spun right back around and grabbed a bowl and a few ripe bananas from a bowl.

Prompto loved watching, and didn’t want to do or say anything that might make Ignis stop. Even so, he couldn’t suppress his curiosity: “So, what are you making?”

“Quite honestly, I’m not certain. I don’t really have a recipe-” Prompto suppressed a smile - he loved the way Ignis said the word - “but I’m going off of a description Noctis gave me.”

“Oh! Are these the mysterious Tenebraen sweets Noctis told me about?” 

“I certainly hope so.” Ignis smiled wryly, and studied Prompto over the edge of his glasses for a moment before returning his attention to his dough. “However, I truly have no way of knowing I’ve got the recipe right until I gain His Highness’ approval.” 

Prompto’s gaze twitched over his shoulder to where Noctis had fallen asleep in the middle of their last round of Mako Cart with his hand in a bag of off-brand potato crisps he'd gotten at the convenience store near his house, and he shook his head. “I’m sure Noct will like it.”

“He approves, yes, but I want to impress him.” There was a certain set in Ignis’ jaw as he mashed the bananas in the bowl without looking at Prompto. “Just being ‘good enough’ isn’t satisfactory. He has a certain nostalgia and wistfulness for those particular tarts." There was determination in Ignis' next turn of the spatula, a brow creasing his features as he worked. "Of course, it may be impossible.”

“Oh?” Prompto’s brow knit up. “Why do you say that?”

“I’m not certain it’s just the tarts he misses. He misses the person who shared them with him.” Ignis’ cheeks hollowed, and he kept his gaze low, barely even looking at the bowl of meringue that had been waiting in the wings. “There’s only so much I can do to replace someone who’s gone from one’s life; I admit, you’ve done more than I ever could to satisfy that need for Noctis.”

“What do you mean?” Prompto sat up and leaned forward, still frowning, heart panging. Ignis didn’t answer, but instead, he extended a spoonful of his banana and meringue mixture to Prompto. 

“Taste this for me, would you kindly?” 

Still frowning with curiousity, Prompto opened his mouth to accept the spoon, and the cloying flavor of bananas and candy sugar coated his tongue and turned his frown upside-down. “Mmm! It’s really sweet." He grinned and licked the spoon clean, then put it in the sink. "I try not to eat too much stuff with sugar, but that’s good enough to be worth the calories.” 

Ignis’ eyes crinkled with laugh lines. “I’ll take that as the utmost compliment from you. Sweets for the sweet.” He turned his attention away from Prompto and to his pot on the stove, and Prompto could hide his blush behind Ignis’ turned back. 

He didn’t know quite what Ignis meant, but he hoped sincerely that it meant they wanted to keep him around. After all, he'd love to know what these mysterious sweets tasted like too - or if they would just taste so good because of who he was with. 


	22. Holy/Crystal & Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For FFXVtober and Noctober and Promptober- Holy/Crystal & Training

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since Holy and Crystal were pretty closely associated, I decided to count this for both. Enjoy!

**22: Holy/Crystal & Training**

Prompto reloaded his gun to prepare for another round with the targets, sweating in the sunlight as dust swirled around his feet. He could hear the scuffle and shuffle of Ignis and Gladio sparring behind him, but tried to focus on what was in front of him. There were a whole line of targets across the training ring, and he backed up ten paces from his last line, turned and faced the next sheet, aimed, and - 

Holstered his gun when a flash of blue flew past his vision. He gasped as Noctis whizzed back across the ring, carried on glowing blue light, faster than Prompto could blink. Prompto watched as Noctis flashed to a rafter overhead, hanging off of the hilt of his sword, and held fire, finger off the trigger, both too nervous to fire while Noctis was moving through his space, and in awe of Noctis.

“First time seeing him do that, huh?” Prompto jolted from focusing on Noctis to see that Gladio and Ignis had paused their sparring match (or perhaps naturally concluded it, as Ignis was dusting his collar and Gladio was rubbing a bruise on his side). Gladio grinned with his usual mischief and swaggered towards him. “It’s pretty wild.”

“Yeah,” Prompto agreed, still too awed. “It’s - that’s Royal Magic, right?”

“Indeed. Fueled by the Crystal, and the Crown Jewel of His Highness’ battle techniques.” Ignis adjusted his glasses, hand angled so Prompto would nearly miss his sly grin. Even so, Prompto had cottoned onto Ignis’ humor by now, and stifled a chuckle. 

It took about ten seconds for Gladio to blow a raspberry at Ignis. “That one was a stretch.” 

Prompto laughed, then looked upwards to see Noctis “So, only because he’s the Prince-”

“His Majesty, his Highness, and the Kingsglaive members who are explicitly granted the magic.” Ignis folded his arms and watched as Noctis switched weapons, throwing a spear next and hanging free from the shaft twenty feet up on the arena wall. “It’s considered holy, since it’s sourced from the Crystal itself. Some of the more devout and traditional council members actually objected to His Majesty granting the Crystal’s magic to the Kingsglaive, insisting that its power was meant only for the line of Lucis and giving it to the unworthy was an offense against the Gods-”

There was a flash and a rush of air behind them, and Prompto felt a smack against his ass. He whirled around only to see Noctis landing in a low wall across from them, and Ignis and Gladio each similarly feeling themselves over, Ignis in shock and Gladio on the verge of laughter. 

Ignis was the first to react, indignant, “And using your powers for childish pranks is anathema,  _ Noct!” _

“Try and stop me.” Noctis’ dagger landed in front of Prompto, and Noctis appeared a split second later with a rush of air and a shine of blue light. He winked at Prompto where he landed. “Better yet, try and catch me.” He wound up with his short sword, but when his body twisted to launch into warp, Prompto felt the air throb, and Noctis stumbled and fell onto his hands instead.

“Stasis for show-offs,” Ignis remarked, glib and sly, and Noctis groaned and rolled to his hands.

“Fine, fine, I’ll take a little break.” Noctis rolled to his feet, shaking his shoulders out, then pointed at the targets. “How about you show me what you can do?”

Prompto grinned, then took position on his line. “If I’m gonna hit anything as fast as you, I better be on target too!” He aimed, pleased when Noctis stood alongside him.

He had been in awe of Noctis when they’d met, and moreso every time he learned something new about him. Maybe if he could get this next shot, he could impress Noctis a little in return.


	23. Bad Memory & Sacrifice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 23: Gladtober and Igtober - Bad Memory & Sacrifice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gladnis hurt/comfort for your soul <3

**23:** **Bad Memory & Sacrifice**

The silence of the night was interrupted by a groan and a creak from the bed in the other room. Ignis had sat awake, restlessly feeling over the punched Braille in his novel. Between the lack of light and Ignis’ lack of sight, his circadian rhythm was gone, or perhaps he was caught in another fit of Insomnia. Even so, he would rather have been in bed. 

Especially when he heard the bed’s occupant let out a sob.

Ignis put a bookmark in and grasped out for his cane. He was nearly used to the format of their Lestallum safehouse, but there were small enough changes to their floor plan - a bag here, a box there- that the cane still made him feel more secure, and security was so rare in these fraught days. Ignis swept his cane left and right as he counted steps down the hall, until the groaning became much, much louder, broken by a sob, then a cry:

“Please - no -”

Ignis felt along the door as he entered the bedroom, and quickly found the single large bed in the room, and its occupant twisted in the sheets. Chest aching, Ignis ran his arm up Gladio’s leg to his back, to his tensed arm and a hand fisted in the pillow, until Gladio thrashed again, throwing his hand back.

“Gladio.” He couldn’t let Gladio suffer. “Gladio, wake up.” Ignis pressed his palm between Gladio’s shoulder blades, still able to envision the tapestry of feathers on bare skin. Gladio let out a wet gasp, and sat up, his back rising under Ignis’ touch, breath coming faster and louder.

“I… Iggy… I…” The tension in the air was thicker than blood, and Ignis pushed through it to sit on the bed.

“Come here.” He patted the bed beside him, and felt Gladio shift, the warmth of his bulky body moving close to Ignis arm, until his weight settled into the mattress beside him. “A nightmare, dear heart?”

Gladio let out another wet noise, a ragged breath, and Ignis felt his shoulders jerking as he nodded. Pursing his lips, Ignis found Gladio’s thigh with his hand and squeezed. 

“Tell me.”

The rough groan Gladio made was loaded with emotion: grief, anger, anguish. After another fraught moment, he choked out, “You. Altissia.” He gave a sob, then stemmed the next one back. “I didn’t make it in time - you were - you…”

Ignis winced as Gladio’s words broke into a senseless sob, mourning what had been lost, and what had nearly been lost. “Any sacrifice of mine was one I was always willing to make.”

“I wasn’t,” Gladio rasped, hot, angry, and sad, voice breaking: “I wasn’t ready to lose you. I…" He wavered, his defenses down in the moment, sounding so small and vulnerable without having a Prince to shield. "I almost lost you…”

Ignis winced, and took Gladio’s hands. “I’m still here. We’re still here.” He ran his hand up Gladio’s back and wove it into his hair. Even without his sight, he was familiar with Gladio, even as he’d changed during their years in the dark. “We’re still here, together. Don’t let memories and regrets keep you from what we have now.”

Moaning, Gladio bent his face against Ignis’ shoulder and heaved another sob. Ignis silently stroked his hair, wishing he could soothe this pain away or press reassurances into his wild mind like a brand. 

“Whatever we’ve lost, please remember what we still have. We still have that.” 

Such security was so rare in these fraught days, and for all they’d given up or lost, Ignis still wanted Gladio to have that.


	24. Trident & Piano

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Day 24: FFXVTober and Noctober, "Trident" and "Piano"

**24: Trident & Piano**

The train was too quiet, the sound of the wheels against tracks muffled by the falling snow. Without the other passengers aboard, with Ignis and Gladio asleep in their bunk room and the drivers at the wheel, with Prompto gone, the silence was crushing. Noctis paced up and down the gangway between cars, restless and cold. Exhaustion bit at his ankles like the chilly wind, but his bones ached with anxiety. No matter how many times he tried to close his eyes, he couldn’t settle. Sleep wouldn’t come, warded off like the ring around his neck was a barrier against it. 

The Ring was so much heavier than a tiny piece of metal had any right to be. Even heavier was the Trident now in his Armiger, another reminder of everything he’d lost, ever-present in his mind. 

He wondered if the weight of it all might just drag him down and away, too, like Luna…

Noctis stopped and took a shuddering breath, the noise too loud. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a few breaths, stopping in place to catch his bearings. He tried to remember when Prompto had told him about panic breathing, when he needed to ground himself - had to try not to think too hard about Prompto - but he remembered that Prompto had told him that when he was panicking, to name five things in the room with him.

He opened his eyes. The dining car. There were glasses on a rack over a bar sink. There was a box of napkins. Someone had left a little box of crayons next to a paper mat. There were seven stools, four booths with eight benches. There was an upright piano in the corner.

The piano.

Noctis drifted towards it, carried by an unknown current, and found himself landing on the bench behind it without even thinking about it. His fingers touched the keys - cold as ice, and just as smooth. He pressed in, striking a note that broke through the silence like a bullet soaring through the air. Noctis sucked in a breath, then touched a few more keys.

He remembered those distant days with Lunafreya, sitting on the bench with her as she taught him to play, helping him spread his fingers to strike each chord; playing the harmony as he shyly pecked out the melody. She’d sing softly under her breath, so shy about her voice. Noctis had wished then that she’d sang louder. He would have loved to hear more of her voice.

He’d almost learned to play on his own when he’d been forced to flee Tenebrae. He’d begged his father to let him take piano lessons when they’d gotten home, but his father, so shaken by the attack, was afraid to let anyone else close to Noctis for a long while. By the time he’d been willing to let anyone new meet Noctis again, Noctis was certain he had forgotten what little of Luna’s lessons he’d taken to heart.

Noctis had remembered more than he thought, he decided, as he spread his fingers over the keys. He remembered the simple chord progression Luna had taught him, but the words. The words wouldn’t come.

He filled the silence with his memories of Lunafreya, those simple notes, that nameless tune echoing in the chambers of his heart, at tempo with the crashing waves in his last recollection of Lunafreya and the beating of his heart.

He could still recall her at his side, her hands over his. He could still recall her on the altar, her trident in hand, facing Leviathan with the same serene determination with which she’d healed his pain. 

He couldn’t remember the rest of the song, his fingers coming to a stop, and tears falling onto the keys. 

The rest was silence.


	25. Homecoming & Goodnight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Day 25: Gladtober and Noctober - Homecoming & Goodnight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Prompto for Prompto's birthday? No worries, I'm doing something special for him later. ;D

**25: Homecoming & Goodnight**

The doors of the Citadel loomed huge before them. Gladio had always felt small when he’d walked through him - how did Noctis, petite by compare, feel when he stood before them?

Looking at him now, in his royal raiment, his shoulders back and his eyes on the high tower of the Citadel, Gladio could only see how tall his Prince - no, his  _ King _ had become. 

Prompto and Ignis lingered a few steps behind, Ignis feeling his way up the long stairway with an unusual unsureness - counting the stairs, perhaps, or maybe the emotion of the moment had overwhelmed his old sense memories - and Prompto dutifully guided him up towards their home, back to the start of their journey, where everything had begun.

Where everything would end.

“Welcome home, your Majesty,” Gladio said in a voice meant just for him. Noctis grimaced, mouth twisting in a mirthless smile and the lines under his eyes crinkling.

“It’s not really home anymore, is it?” Noctis tucked a hand in one of his pockets, his Ring catching on the outside of the aperture. “We haven’t lived here in a long time.”

“No. But it’s still home.” Gladio crossed his arms. “As much as I’ve lived everywhere about now, I never thought of any of those places as home. When I thought about going home, I always thought of  _ here. _ Of Insomnia.”

“I understand.” Noctis exhaled slowly, eyes falling shut, and he shifted his weight back onto his heels. “The thing is, for me, as much as I loved Insomnia, it wasn’t about Insomnia for me. It was about the people.” He turned towards Gladio. “How many people did we lose in the ten years I missed?”

Gladio sealed his mouth tight. Noctis didn’t need to know that. He didn’t need to walk forward with that on his shoulders, too. “You’ll make life - living - possible for so many more.” 

“I know. That's why I came back.” Noctis heaved a sigh, and pivoted on his heel to face Gladio. “It’s good to be back, in a way. I don’t know if anyone will ever live in Insomnia again, though.” He gazed back at the city, the ruined skyscrapers and collapsing statues, the cars left upturned as if the entire world had just turned upside down and been shaken like a snowglobe. “Even so, it ends here.”

“Yeah.” Gladio exhaled, then put his hand on Noctis’ shoulder and pulled him incrementally closer. “If I don’t get a chance to say it again, then: good bye, and good night.” 

Noctis smiled again, and leaned into Gladio’s touch. Gladio’s arm naturally curved around his shoulders, and pulled him to a chest for a hug. He felt enormous against Noctis’ frame, and yet still so small in the shadow of their fate. 


	26. Carbuncle & Sharp

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Day 26: Noctober and Igtober, "Carbuncle" and "Sharp"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason, when I write Ignoct, I keep writing kid!Ignoct, haha. Enjoy!

**26: Carbuncle & Sharp**

Noctis wasn’t the same child that had left the Citadel that night. The spirited, playful boy that Ignis had striven to keep up with was gone, vanished into a shell of himself. He didn’t want to run and play, didn’t even try to escape his wheelchair. He didn’t want to play games or watch movies, he didn’t beg Ignis to tell him stories anymore. All Noctis wanted to do was sit in his wheelchair and watch the world go by or huddle in his bed and cry.

And always with his Carbuncle toy in hand. 

Ignis didn’t ask where it had come from. It had been with Noctis when he’d returned, and Noctis had been holding it tight ever since. It was soft and fluffy, its tail puffy and squeezable, its cheeks furry and touchable, its whole body huggable. 

Ignis… was not. 

He’d been told he was a sharp boy. His fingers were thin from working, from practicing his handwriting to make sure that his every letter was even and each line precise and from learning his knife skills so he could help prepare meals for Noctis. He was intelligent and observant, never missing Noctis’ little tells that he was in pain or that the adults weren’t telling them something. He was clever, able to answer all of Noctis’ questions when he did dare give them voice, and able to pick up that Noctis was always disappointed with his answers. 

He was sharp, yes. But Noctis wanted soft.

Ignis found himself burning with jealousy when Noctis’ fingers curled around his toy’s soft arm, when he whispered into its ear. Carbuncle couldn’t give him answers. Carbuncle wouldn’t play with him, or read to him, or do anything but listen.

Perhaps all Noctis wanted in the aftermath was someone who would listen. 

If Noctis asked, Ignis would give him a hug. He would figure out how to comfort Noctis, despite his small, un-fluffy body. Nobody had taught him that, but he would find a way.

But maybe he was just too sharp. Perhaps Noctis was afraid Ignis would only hurt him again, like losing Lunafreya had hurt. 

If that was so, then Ignis would have to remain sharp. Someday, he would need someone sharp enough to protect him. If he couldn’t give him the comfort Carbuncle provided, he’d at least be the barbs around him, the blade to keep his enemies at bay, someone who could keep him from hurting. He would make it so Noctis would never need more comfort, since that was the one thing Ignis didn’t think he’d ever be able to provide.


	27. Father/Son Bonds & Warp

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For FFXVtober & Noctober - "Father/Son Bonds" & "Warp"

**27: Father/Son Bonds & Warp**

Warping into the aether felt like taking a breath, in a way. The way the magic swelled through Noctis’ whole body was like air filling his lungs, and yet, in that moment when he twisted through space, he felt like he was suffocating. So full of magic there was no room for air. 

The between-space was neither hot nor cold, but it was bright. Noctis was never there long enough to really perceive it, and he instinctively shut his eyes against the aether whenever he warped. The light there was enough to burn through his eyelids; it must have been like staring into the sun. It reminded Noctis of the light from the Crystal, only magnitudes brighter.

What was there, between spaces? Where did Noctis go when he folded reality to jump between one place and another? If he opened his eyes, would he be blinded? Or would he see the Lucian Kings that preceded him, all providing their energy to him?

Would he see his father? 

What did his father see when he’d used this magic?

Did Dad know he was using their magic? Was he there, in the aether, in the between? Would he see him if he dared opened his eyes? The Lucian Kings wouldn’t rest until the prophecy was fulfilled, but did that mean he was just there, watching? Did he see Noctis pass him by from his place in the pantheon of their legacy, torquing across time and space as he fought his way through everything in his way to achieve his birthright?

What did Dad think of him now?

Noctis couldn’t think about it, not with MTs bearing down on them from all sides. Instead, he threw his sword, took a breath, and launched into action. 

(Maybe someday, when all this was over, he could ask.) 


	28. Driving & Sassy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Day 28, Promptober & Igtober: "Driving" and "Sassy"

**28: Driving & Sassy**

“Both hands on the wheel now.” 

“Right, right, got it.” Prompto gripped the wheel, but tossed a grin over at Ignis. Ignis was sitting in the passenger seat with the ice pack from their first aid kit over his left eye, which was hopefully less purple than it had been last time Prompto had seen it. Between that, Gladio’s inability to drive stick shift, and Noctis sleeping off stasis, Prompto was the only one in shape to drive.

Of course, that didn’t at all change the others’ opinion of his driving.

“Eyes on the road.” 

“A guy gets in one little fishtail and you think I can’t drive.” Prompto rolled his eyes, then refocused them on the road. Ignis merely gave a languid ‘ha.’ 

“One more accident, and we’ll give you the  _ hook.” _

“Boo!” Prompto blew a raspberry at Ignis. “Puns won’t help me focus.”

“Blinders couldn’t help you focus, and yet I must insist.” Ignis winked his visible eye at him, and Prompto groaned again.

“Fine. Hands on the wheel. Ten and two. Looking straight ahead.” Prompto hunched his shoulders, but kept his head facing forward. Just like Ignis wanted, right? 

Ignis let that sit, the sound of the rolling motor filling the air. Then, quietly, “You could look bisexually ahead, really.”

Prompto snorted. “Ignis.”

“Personally, I never do anything  _ straight,  _ I sally gaily forth.”

_ “Ignis.” _ Prompto cracked a smile, but didn’t turn his gaze from the road.

“I tease because I care.” Ignis shifted the ice pack from his eye. “If I didn’t have faith in your skills, I wouldn’t let you drive at all.”

“And if I didn’t love you, I wouldn’t tolerate you giving me sass while I’m driving.” Prompto relaxed minutely as Ignis settled in the seat again. 

“Darling, don’t you know?” He put the ice pack back down over his swollen eye, though he still seemed to be winking. “You always drive me just a little bit crazy.”

Prompto groaned, but put the pedal down, gripped the wheel, and drove on. 


	29. Loved & Loving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Day 29, Noctober and Promptober: "Loved and Loving"

**29: Loved & Loving**

Noctis couldn’t take it. His head was still ringing like it was hollow and someone had banged on it like a drum. Ardyn’s eerie purring as he regaled the others with tales of his travels around the camper table was making the ache worse, like bees were crawling into the empty space between his ears and filling it with a persistent, nagging buzz. It was too much, like the meteor on Titan's back as he yelled in his ear.

The burden had finally gotten to him. 

He excused himself from the evening wind-down early and crept into the caravan in vain hopes of getting some relief. He could still feel the echo of Titan’s call, and he wasn’t completely sure he wouldn’t just collapse again the next time the god decided to scream in his ear.

It was so much. It was too much. And he knew he had to bear it alone. He never felt so isolated than when the realities of his duties overwhelmed him, and those around him couldn’t do anything to help.

He curled into the bottom bunk and pulled the blanket over his head, more seeking the dark than the warmth, and squeezing his eyes shut tight. However, before he could sink into full moping about the situation, the caravan door opened and shut again, oh-so-quietly, and Noctis peeked out from the blanket just as a shadow blocked out the fluorescent overhead light. 

“Hey dude.” Prompto crouched down over him. “Did you want to change your clothes, or are you just gonna sleep in your sweaty boot socks?”

Noctis scrunched his nose. “I don’t feel like doing anything.”

“That kinda night, huh?” Prompto cocked his head, smile crooked but sadness in his eyes. “It’s been a rough day, huh?”

“Day,” Noctis grunted. “Week. Month.” Life, he wanted to say, but Prompto carded his fingers into his hair before he could. 

“I know,” Prompto sighed, “I mean, I don’t  _ know _ know, because I’m not you, and I’m not in your place, but I’ve seen you go through a lot of it.” Noctis sealed his mouth for a moment - Prompto had his share of problems too, of course. His absent parents - were they even alive now? Insomnia had been his home too, and it was gone now. None of this was his responsibility like it was Noctis’, but he was here anyway. Noctis was about to register a protest, but then Prompto began gently scratching his scalp and melted away Noctis’ ability to actually talk. “Just, remember, I’m here with you. I’m here to help. I want to help you.” He smiled, and even though he cast a shadow over Noctis’ face, he was like sunshine against Noctis’ dampened spirits. “I’m right here.”

“I…” Noctis opened his mouth to give his sentiments voice, but there were so many. One in particular, and one Noctis couldn't bring himself to say, no matter how he conjugated it. The word felt like too much - he couldn’t lay that burden on Prompto. “Thank you.”

He could bear these feelings alone, at least a little longer. Prompto seemed pleased anyway, and he still kicked off his boots and socks and crawled into the bunk with him, still scratching his scalp with one hand and wrapping his free arm around his shoulder. 

Prompto’s quiet affections soothed away the noise in his head, and Noctis closed his eyes, resolved to carry his burdens just a little longer.


	30. Frog & Guilty Pleasure

**30: Frog & Guilty Pleasure**

“Again?” Prompto groaned as he turned to face the battlefield after striking down the last of the Nagas. He’d thought it had gotten quiet, and he’d had to bust out the Circular Saw to get the job done. However, the last of the daemons were gone, but when he’d turned around to find the others, they were gone. 

Well. Not gone. Just not themselves. 

A blue-skinned frog hopped towards Prompto’s boot, shadow long in the light clipped to his jacket. A larger toad with dark warts hopped closer as well, and as Prompto scooped the pair of them up, he spotted a slender green frog snapping its tongue at a cricket in the grass. “Aw, Iggy, you’re gonna be mad at yourself for that later!” Without much care for the slime or grime on their sticky skin, Prompto gingerly scooped his three Frogged friends up and carried them towards the Regalia’s lights shining on the road nearby. Gladio squirmed, and Noctis croaked loudly. “I know. I know. Not supposed to touch frogs with bare skin.” Noctis and Ignis each croaked in protest, and Prompto groaned. “Whatever. Let me know if you remember when I turn you back.”

Prompto had something of a unique ability. His own personal Maiden’s Kiss. He’d discovered it as a joke when Noctis had been turned into a Toad once, and he’d loudly announced, “Well, I’ve never kissed a girl or whatever, maybe I can turn him back!”

“Isn’t that for Princesses?” Ignis had mused, glib and dismissive, but Prompto, laughing, just brought Noctis to his mouth.

“The curative says ‘Maiden,’ so unless magic discriminates against male virgins, it should work!” He planted a smooch on Noctis’ forehead, and while he was about to muse about how it’d be nice to kiss Noctis as a person, he suddenly had a lapful of very surprised Noctis.

“Dude, did you just kiss me human?” Noctis gawked at Prompto, wide-eyed, as Ignis already prepared a text to Gladio letting him know he didn’t need to purchase a Maiden’s Kiss anymore.

They still stocked them - after all, if Prompto were incapacitated, he couldn’t kiss himself - but if they were out, Prompto was a perfectly good backup option. Prompto, used to how it went by now, sat all three of them down in the Regalia’s daemon-repelling lights and got on his knees in front of them.

“Don’t move, okay? It’s gotta be one at a time, you know that.” He put on a little chapstick, then smeared the sticky film from his arms on his shirt. “I’m gonna do Noct first. You two wait just a second.” 

He bent forward and pressed his lips to Noctis’ sticky little head. Before Prompto could even register “ew, frog, gross” Noctis was on his hands in front of him, and he sat back with a groan and mopped his sweaty hair from his eyes.

“Thanks, dude.”

“Don’t mention it, really.” 

Prompto moved to Ignis next, and when he opened his eyes, his lips were touching Ignis’ forehead. Ignis put a hand on Prompto’s head, and Prompto tried to relish the gentle touch until Ignis eased him back. “You have my thanks. Would you kindly take care of Gladio before he hops off?”

“Yeah, yeah, sure.” Prompto twisted to Gladio next, and gave him a quick peck on the forehead. In a blink, Gladio turned back, landing on his front with a grunt.

“Never fun. Thanks for saving my skin, blondie.” Gladio smoothed his palms down his arms. “I like my skin just the way it is, thanks.”

“Don’t mention it! Just give me a holler next time you need me to de-frog you.” He jumped to his feet and shot finger guns at Gladio. “Or, uh, give me a croak, I guess.”

Ignis laughed through his nose, though the others didn’t seem to hear him. Prompto jumped back into his seat and put a fresh layer of chapstick on, and squeezed his eyes shut tight. They drove on into the night without another word traded.

(And all of them could quietly go on pretending none of them enjoyed a moment of it.)


	31. Dawn, Spooks, and Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Noctober (Dawn), Gladtober and Promptober (Spook for both), and Igtober (Friends)

**31: Dawn, Spook, & Friends**

Dawn stretched over the rubble and wreckage of Insomnia, pink and pale orange light casting long shadows on the silent ruins of the city. The night had ended, the journey with it, and the heroes had come to rest. However, Insomnia, as it had been, was truly gone, and it might never rise. Cars would never drive down those upturned roads, throngs of people would never crowd the disjointed trains and subways, children would never return to their decimated, crumbling schools. However, dawn had come all the same.

And the shadows touched the last people in the city.

“Gladio!” Prompto cupped his hands around his mouth and called his name: “Gladio! Where’d you go?!”

Prompto bounded over the shadows of the ground, feet lighter than they’d been in years. He moved to peer around the crumbling corpse of an Iron Giant, until Gladio jumped out at him and yelled. “BOO!”

Prompto yelped and swatted at his arm. “Don’t scare me like that!”

“Come on, blondie!” Gladio laughed and ruffled his hair. “You just spook so easily! Figures, considering we are…”

“Yeah.” Prompto tipped his head back and sighed, then glanced at the shadows stretching across the ground in the dawn light. Neither he nor Gladio cast any shadow; they were mere shades in the light.

“You think we’ll get to haunt Insomnia when they rebuild?” Gladio hooked his arm around Prompto’s as the two of them walked over the crumbled street, the crags of asphalt and debris from buildings, back towards the last place Prompto had seen Ignis. “I think I’ll set up shop wherever they start training soldiers again.”

“What, gonna haunt the showers?” Prompto smirked at him, and Gladio cuffed him across the forehead.

“Nah, I wanna make sure they’re doing a good job protecting the new country!” He put his hands in the pockets of his uniform - pristine, not at all like it had been the last time Prompto had seen him. “How about you?”

“I just want to watch all the buildings go up again. Guess I won’t have my camera this time, but I’ll remember it.” Prompto smiled to think of it - watching the city come back together, piece by piece, documenting it in his memory. “Might just wander the streets for as long as I can, watching it all come back together.”

“Think you’ll come and visit me in the training hall some time?” Gladio winked, and Prompto laughed and slung an arm around his shoulder. 

“Of course.” He leaned into Gladio - he was weightless now, but it still felt good to know Gladio was there. “We have all the time in the world now, right?”

“Dunno.” Gladio’s eyebrows knit. “I had a feeling we weren’t getting out of this alive, but I don’t know…”

Another voice interrupted their conversation, and both of them alerted to hear it: “- let this be the final sentiment I leave on Eos.” Prompto turned and saw his own body, laid facedown, eyes shut as if merely sleeping, and Ignis sat near it, propped against a fallen pillar, one dagger in his shaking hand and the other hand holding his phone to his mouth. There was too much blood under him, and surely he knew that this moment was his last. “Please know that I lived and died in the manner I chose. Among friends, and content that my duty was done. The rest is yours." His phone fell from his hand, the dagger next, and then, his head dropped to his chest. 

And then, slowly, he stood, rising to examine his own body in repose. Prompto was the first to approach him, a hand out, then stopped short.

"Ignis?"

Ignis turned, and smiled as he faced Gladio and Prompto. Gladio thumped his fist to his chest. "Among friends, eh?"

"Precisely." Ignis strode towards them and hooked one arm around Prompto's, then his other around Gladio's shoulder in embrace. "And hopefully I shall remain so for however long we persist." 

Ignis tugged Prompto into the group hug, dawn's light shining through them and making even their souls feel warm. 

"We were just talking about how we were going to haunt the Citadel," Gladio husked into Ignis' ear, and Ignis laughed. 

"Oh? I suppose I won't object to a bit of  _ spirited _ mischief-"  Prompto blew a raspberry and Gladio jeered -  "But if we intend to spend eternity among friends, then don't you think we're missing someone?" Ignis pointed to the Citadel, and Prompto turned. He could see a bright light, and he and Gladio traded looks.

"Wanna see if there'll be four ghosts haunting Insomnia?" He was already moving, instinctively carried towards Noctis. Nodded. Gladio was already following. 

"Let's go."

And with that, the three of them set off towards their King, in death as in life. 


End file.
